Oliver turned TWO, so we went to ZOO!

So the big day that we have anticipated is finally here; hooray, my little boy is TWO years old! When I asked Oliver what he wanted to do for his birthday, I gave him two options: the zoo or the state fair. He instantly responded zoo because he wanted to see the donkeys, the camels and the elephants. Unfortunately, the camel exhibit is no more, the donkeys were off exhibit and the elephant was inside eating his lunch. But it was a perfect morning for the zoo and we made the most of the animals we did see. Oliver enjoyed experiencing the zoo with his Grammy & Gramps. Be warned, this is a very long post!

Can we go yet? Oliver was ready for the zoo, and just waiting for the rest of us.

Since we weren't quite ready, he decided to lay down and wait with a cute smile!

This is Oliver's car seat cozy pose that he assumes when he is tired.

We made it to the zoo. First stop, feed the birds in the aviary.

Next stop, a short pony ride with Daddy -- so much fun!

Oliver loved petting the fluffy bunny in the petting zoo.

I don't think I want to crawl inside there...but, you can!

Oliver practicing his hopping skills with some kangaroos

Daddy showing Oliver the monkeys

The monkeys looking at Oliver

Oliver & Gramps looking for the camels near where they once were

Oliver so cute, yet a little disappointed at the lack of camels

Oliver & Gramps looking at one of three huge Rhinos

check out the size of those horns!

Oliver & Gramps looking for the tiger

here he is!

my silly little birthday boy!

PRICELESS!

Oliver & Grammy walking up to see the giraffes and the elephant who wished not to be photographed as they were busy eating lunch

Back with Gramps now to see an enormous turtle

The turtle came out of his house to say hello!

Hold on tight Oliver, don't fall off!

Oliver & Daddy sneaking up on a squirrel

Mommy & Oliver taking a rest

Time for tickle-kisses from Daddy

Now time for birthday kisses from Mommy & Daddy

Awww...A birthday family photograph (thanks gramps!)

Oliver goes exploring the picnic area by himself (of course I'm not far behind with my camera)

I think Oliver didn't like the placement of the elephant. He kept trying to push it!

I liked the one of Mommy, Oliver & Grammy on the carousel

Grammy, Oliver & Gramps on the ride home

This is the first of three posts for Oliver's birthday. I'll post his present opening and his party as soon as I have time. Happy Birthday Honey Pie! Mommy & Daddy love you!

A birthday letter from Mommy

Dear Oliver,
Happy birthday my sweet boy! What a blessing you are in your Daddy & Mommy's lives. There is nothing in the world I would rather do than stay home with you and watch you learn and develop into your own person. Your language has blossomed over the last few months; you are constantly trying out new words you hear Mommy & Daddy use and you will repeat almost anything that we ask. You are beginning to learn grammar, just the other day while driving down the alley to our driveway, you exclaimed, "Mommy, car coming" and you were right, there was a car coming. You are learning manners, you now say please when you ask for something and you have said thank you for a long time; we are working on bless you, as well as covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze and common courtesies like asking someone how they are feeling.

Counting is something we like to do all day long; I have heard you count to 8 by yourself, and you can count to 10 with help. You love to sing songs and you often finish the last word in most sentences of almost all the books we read.

You are so happy and love to play. You will entertain yourself, but often you request that Mommy or Daddy "come play"; I think it is just because you enjoy our company. You still enjoy cooking, but lately you have really been loving cars, trucks, and tractors. And let's not forget your current fascination with Winnie the Pooh character stuffed animals, movies and anything else. You still love stuffed animals and often we have conversations with your animals.

You still have tantrums, but I think Mommy & Daddy are learning how to deal with your independent side a little better and perhaps that is reducing the number of tantrums. You love to do things by yourself, and choices seem to be the best route in getting you to do what we want you or need you to do. You can't stand tags on your shirts and you will protest and pull at them until the shirt is removed.

You have developed an allergy to something in the pizza we love to eat and the last two times you have eaten it, your mouth has turned red around your lips, but then responds to Benadryl. We have known that you have been sensitive to the acid in tomatoes for a long time, but interestingly enough; the pizza never affected you that way until now. Perhaps Dijorno changed their list of ingredients. This further reduces already small list of things you will eat. Your favorites are still pasta, green beans, corn, V8, corn bread, recently you have started to like all sorts of rice, you still love fruit and of course almost any sweet you have tried (I'm certain there is more, but this was what came to me).

I love that you still want to sit on my lap when we play together or read stories. I love that you rub my back when I am holding you. I love that you still let me hold you in the cradle position as I am telling you your final bedtime story. I love that you tangle your hands up in my necklace while I am holding you. I love how excited you get at the simple things. I love your giggle, how much fun you are, your passion for your own interests, and how a little piece of chocolate can sometimes make everything better when you are having a hard time. I am pretty sure I love everything about you and I wouldn't change my time spent with you for anything.

Happy Birthday Oliver! Mommy & Daddy love you very much!

Love you always and forever,
Mommy

Grammy & Gramps came to Texas for Oliver's birthday

Oliver's Grammy & Gramps came back to Texas for Oliver's 2nd birthday. Oliver has been asking about who was coming to his party for weeks now and he is so excited now that it is so close. Oliver was very happy to see Grammy & Gramps. Here are some pictures of him getting reacquainted.

Oliver playing at the park

This afternoon we went to a park on the Chisholm Trail; Oliver loves to play with all of their fun toys, especially the school bus!

No use crying over spilled milk...literally!

My little guy loves chocolate. This morning Oliver was pretending to make chocolate milk in his kitchen (which he has never had before), when we decided to make real chocolate milk in Mommy's kitchen. I put it in a sippy cup and he wouldn't touch it; he insisted that it needed to be in a glass with a spoon just like Mommy drinks it. Here is a picture and a video of Oliver drinking chocolate milk for the first time and getting it all over my floor.

No use crying over spilled milk, literally! Instead, I took this as an opportunity to move out the table and chairs and mop the kitchen. Oliver had a great time practicing his jumping skills in the empty breakfast nook. As you can see in the video, he is really starting to catch some air:

Welcome to my front porch...

Yesterday afternoon Clayton had some work to do outside so Oliver and I went outside with him to enjoy the fall whether, play with his trucks and take a couple of small walks. When dinner time rolled around Clayton wasn't quite finished, and Oliver wasn't quite done being outside, so we decided it would be fun to eat outside. I brought Oliver's booster seat outside and he sat inside the entry way to our front door and ate his dinner more quickly than I have ever seen him eat. About his dinner, in the picture you will see that he has a V8 on his tray. That's right, my almost 2 year old loves V8. When he was a lot smaller he would always ask for a taste whenever I had a V8. For months I told him he wouldn't like it, but finally one day I let him taste it and boy was I wrong; he loves it! We alternate V8 with the other vegetables that he likes to eat and he will suck down almost the entire container. Anyway, Oliver loved eating outside.



Unfortunately we stayed outside a little too long and Oliver and I have mosquito bites all over our lower legs. I put some calamine lotion on him before bed tonight. When I came back from getting his PJ's, he was using a cotton ball and pretending to put it on himself. Clayton came in and then he started putting it on his Daddy and then his friends. I thought it was too funny and I started saying thank you Dr. Royal and his face lit up like that is the best thing you have ever called me. It was so funny that I had to take a video of my little doctor. I wish I would have had my camera at the exact moment that his face lit up, but a little bit later was almost just as good. I couldn't decide which video to post, so I posted both: voila!

My little snuggler!

Oliver is such a little snuggler! He loves to cuddle his stuffed animals and he treats them as if they are members of our family. He hugs and kisses them when he has to leave them and is so excited to see them when he returns. Here are some pictures of him snuggling his friends on our guest bed. He is snuggling Lamby, Piglet, Ottie, a spatula, a pillow and what you can't really see is Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger are under the pillow being snuggled too.

a little under the weather...

Poor little Oliver came down with some symptoms of a slight cold last weekend. We have been trying to let him get plenty of rest, without interfering with his bed or nap times. Therefore, I have been waking him more frequently than usual. Before I tell you what I have found, let me back track a little and give you some insight into our sleep routine. Story time in the dark always precedes bedtime. We snuggle and walk around the room and either recite Good Night Moon, or a story specifically made up for his bunny. Then it is into his crib for some back rubs and another story, and then here comes the rituals. Mommy or Daddy must kiss and hug Oliver, and then kiss and hug bunny, and then kiss and hug piggy (you probably think we are done now, but wait), and then kiss and hug Oliver again which to Oliver means the whole thing should start over. After a couple of times of this hugging and kissing circle finally ended with one more and no more, Mommy or Daddy must hold Bunny and Piggy while Oliver places his blanket in the corner just right. And finally, Oliver lays down, we hand him Bunny and Piggy and bid him "bonne nuit" and leave the room.

At first I was a little concerned when I went in to wake him from his long slumber and found him sleeping with his piggy almost completely covering his face. I was totally worried that he wasn't breathing! But after checking and double checking, I am now assured that this is just how he likes to sleep. I find it completely adorable! I realized I hadn't posted any pictures in a week, so I thought you might enjoy seeing these pictures (notice his blanket completely in the corner & his leg up on the second picture -- so cute!). Oh, and Oliver is not outgrowing his crib, he just prefers to sleep on the short side of the crib...I guess it makes him feel more secure.

Practice makes perfect, hopefully!

Today Oliver and I spent a few minutes practicing the fine art of blowing out candles. I didn't realize how much effort it takes to get that breath out of your mouth just right. We used several strategies to try to make it happen, and finally arrived at a strategy that may not be the best used when other people will be eating the cake too. It involves saying the sound the letter P makes "puuu, puuu, puuu" while expelling air and maybe a little spit. I hope his Grandparents won't mind a little spit on their cake! Oliver will be two in exactly two weeks from tomorrow, so we have a few more days to practice the art of blowing the candles out as opposed to spitting the candles out. Too funny!

Deep in the Hundred Akre Woods, where Oliver Royal lives...

...there was an enchanted neighborhood for all of his boyhood friends (at least this is how my version of the song goes).

I realized today that I didn't have any pictures of Oliver with his friends Pooh, Piglet, Tigger & Eeyore. Oliver didn't really want to cooperate, but his peekaboo pictures turned out cute too.

Oliver loves to use side walk chalk outside on our driveway, or should I say Oliver loves me to use side walk chalk. I'll be the first to admit that I have absolutely zero artistic ability. As it turns out however, it doesn't take much to draw these cute little friend's of Oliver's. I think my Pooh drawing ranks as my best drawing ever! Piglet & Eeyore definitely go down on the list, and Tigger well, he was just down right hideous, so he didn't even get his picture taken.

Doesn't everyone where glasses when they work?

It is so wonderful to see this little guy suck up everything in the world around him like a sponge. The learning capacity of toddlers is so amazing to me! Every time Oliver watches Clayton work, his concept of work gets expanded.

Oliver's instructions for working:

Step 1: Get in your car and drive.
Step 2: Put on your glasses (substituting sunglasses will work).
Step 3: Get out your computer, type (any letter pushed repeatedly will do).
Step 4: Write on paper, and be sure you have a big eraser for mistakes.
Step 5: Wear a watch so you can tell when it is time to eat.

Here are some pictures and a video of Oliver working:

Three weeks and counting...

Once again we are not having a big party for Oliver. Last year he had the Chicken Pox and the only people in attendance were his favorite stuffed animals and of course, Mommy and Daddy. This year, I won't have time to plan and execute a party but both sets of Grandparents will be in town, so we will at least have some sort of celebration. Winnie the Pooh is the Theme and I have purchased a few decorations, but unfortunately I will probably buy the food and I am certainly going to buy the cake. That is kind of disappointing to me because I loved spending the time making his cake last year and I would have loved piping every last star to decorate a Winnie the Pooh cake this year, but something has to give! I made this invitation to keep in his baby book and I thought it turned out so cute that I wanted to post it here.

Go OU!

This post is for Oliver's Daddy. Clayton's Alma Mater is The University of Oklahoma and given that football season is upon us, Oliver dons his OU hat every now and then.

Did you know there are hills in Dallas?

I didn't know Dallas had anything even close to resembling a mountain until this weekend when we went to far south Dallas to visit a college campus. The area was so hilly and beautiful and the college had some great landscaping, so we were able to get some cute pictures of Oliver.

Not a great picture of me, but Oliver wanted me to sit on this cute wooden bench with him, and I liked the picture of him.

Reminiscing about the Good Old Days

Oliver's exersaucer was one of his favorite toys during his first year. It had so many different activities, it could keep him occupied long enough for me to do something I needed to do like cook dinner, laundry, etc. I officially put the exersaucer away over a year ago, but given that we don't have a basement, away for me is shoved in a closet somewhere. Lately, every time I hang up clothes in Oliver's closet, he has been fascinated with the dragon puppet and has a cute little conversation with it that goes something like "Hi, Hi (in a deep voice), good, good (in a deep voice), bye , bye (in a deep voice)". His conversational skills are really coming along and he loves to vary the tone and pitch of his voice, so it is actually pretty funny to listen to (probably much better than reading it).

Anyway, today I asked Oliver if he wanted me to take the dragon out so he could see it better and of course he emphatically responded, "Yeah"! That meant taking out the top of the exersaucer. What happened next was completely amazing to me. He immediately went over and sat in the center and played with all the toys just like he used to. I don't know if he remembered playing in it and therefore remembered sitting in the center, or if the hole in the center just looked like a good place to sit. Of course after giving each of the toys their fair share of attention with touch and sight, his toddler tendencies kicked in and he preceded to step on, kick and try to detach every toy from the exersaucer. Needless to say, shortly after that began the exersaucer was back in the closet to be saved for another day. Here are some pictures of him playing with it ever so nicely.

Oliver Clayton Royal is Twenty-Three Months Old!

My sweet little boy is 23 months old! Wow, where did the last month go? I think this month may have gone more quickly than the previous 22 months.

Some updates on Oliver's development: Oliver has become quite a talker this month. He tries to say more things every day. It is funny how quickly the sign drops off once he masters the word for it. For example, truck was a sign that he used probably every other minute then yesterday he began saying "truck" while we were running errands and he hasn't used the sign since. Unfortunately, Oliver has been having some intermittent short naps and as a result a few more temper tantrums, but I believe that is because he is cutting his 14th and 15th teeth -- both canine, one on top and the other on bottom. He is still very strong willed and tests his limits and boundaries quite often. I think Oliver's favorite word is "play", and we hear it non-stop when it is time to get ready to eat, or take a bath. He has turned into a little climber and I don't think there is anything he can't get if given the correct conditions. Luckily we have rubber feet on the bottom of our chairs so he hasn't figured out that he can move the chairs to climb yet.

Some other things of note: We purchased a booster seat for him this past month because he was really interested in sitting in Mommy & Daddy's chairs instead of his high chair. But as it turns out, he still really likes his high chair for eating and the booster seat is now his activity chair (for coloring, painting, etc.) We are loving the cool weather we have had for the past couple of days. I think Oliver would be most happy if we could spend all day every day outside playing. He has developed an increased liking for his farm set that we bought him for his birthday last year. He loves the song Old MacDonald had a Farm. He picks the farm animal, says it's sound, and sings the chorus so cute: E-I-E-I-O! One of the biggest surprises over the past month is his current obsession with Winnie the Pooh. We purchased his first Pooh video recently and every time he sees the TV, he tells me he wants to watch "Winnie Pooh". Next time you talk to Oliver ask him what Winnie the Pooh likes to eat and he will gladly tell you "hunny".

Despite Oliver's temper tantrums he is still so incredibly sweet! I just can't get enough of him and I hate having to leave him almost every day. I love how he still wants to snuggle in my lap when I read him stories. I love how he wants to help me with everything I do. I love when he says Amen at the end of of family prayer. I love when he giggles at silly things I say or do, and how he still loves to get tickle kisses from Mommy. I love that he acts so big in everything he does and loves to rough house with Daddy, but if he gets hurt or sad he still wants Mommy. Oh I could do this I love stuff all day, but for now I'll just leave you with his 23 month old pictures as well as a short video of him wishing himself "Happy Day Ollie":





and my three favorites...

Happy Day Ollie video:

click the arrow to play

Oliver can put on his own shoes!

This morning Oliver and I were going outside to play and I asked him to find his shoes. He showed them to me, and I told him to hold on a second and I would help in put them on. Before I knew it he was exclaiming "Mommy, shoes", "Mommy, shoes", and I turned around and sure enough he had put on his shoes on the correct feed no less. Sure they were slip on crocs, but I think that is pretty great for an almost 23 month old. I was so proud and as you will see, so was he. Here is a picture of him holding up his feet to show me what he did!


I have heard that children will play with toys differently at different stages. I have noticed how true that statement is lately. Oliver received this lawn mower for his first birthday and has enjoyed pushing it around and pretending to mow. Well today it was like a whole new toy for him. He started playing with the musical part of it that plays the ABC's (which we are currently working on) and another button sounds like you are filling it with gas, and a third sings a song about mowing. He got such a kick out of it that I had to grab my camera again. Too cute!

Oliver swinging at Archgate Park

The other day it occurred to me that I didn't have any pictures of Oliver swinging at the park right behind our house. We walk to the park at least 2-3 times per week, and Oliver could swing all day long. Now that the temperature is decreasing, we can spend time at the park in the afternoon too! Oliver thinks this is a great idea!

A quick update...

We are adjusting to my school schedule and I sometimes wonder what was I thinking taking 16 credit hours while still maintaining my status as a full-time stay at home Mom? Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who has definitely stepped up to the plate to take on more than his fair share of work. While continuing to work full-time himself, he has arranged his schedule so that he is able to be home with Oliver while I am at school. However this means that I barely see Clayton. I leave for school as soon as he comes in the door, and he leaves for work as soon as I do. When I return from class at night, I study and he usually works or sleeps. It is a crazy schedule we have worked out for ourselves, but so far so good. My classes are now officially 25% over and I am on the count down.

Oliver is so funny, every time I change my clothes (be it into PJ’s or first thing in the morning), he thinks that means I am leaving and he rushes over to give me a hug and kiss and says “bye”; sometimes I think he is a little disappointed when I tell him that I am not going to skooool (in Oliver speak) right then! Oliver has really enjoyed spending extra time with his Daddy and we are really proud of the way he has adjusted to this new schedule.